16 January 2010 - Messi's Milestone

On 16 January 2010, Lionel Messi scored his 100th goal for Barcelona, becoming the youngest person in club history to hit that milestone.

The goal came in a home league match against Sevilla. The two teams had already met twice that month in the Copa del Rey Round of 16, with Sevilla advancing on away goals after drawing 2-2 on aggregate. In the second leg, which Barcelona won 1-0, Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop repeatedly frustrated Messi, denying him in several one-on-one attempts and preventing him from scoring.

In the league match on 16 January, Palop got off to another good start, keeping the game scoreless through the first half. But shortly after the start of the second half, Barcelona took the lead with a 49th-minute own goal from center back Julien Escudé. A chip from Barça striker Pedro doubled their lead in the 70th minute.

Then Messi struck. In the 84th minute, he scored his record 100th club goal from just outside the six-yard box. At 22 years, six months, and 22 days old, he was the youngest player in club history to score a century. But he didn't stop there, adding another in the first minute of stoppage time to extend the final score to 4-0.

Now eight years later, he has a current total of 611 goals.

2 January 2011 - Xavi Shares The Record

On 2 January 2011, Xavi made his 549th appearance for Barcelona, tying the club record set by Migueli in 1988. 

The midfielder joined the club as a youth player in 1991 at the age of 11, then started his professional career there in 1997. One year later, he cracked the first team, making a total of 27 appearances in the 1998-99 season.

His record-tying match was at home against Levante. The visitors were coming off an 8-0 mauling by Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, so few people expected them to trouble the hosts, who had camped out at the top of table since late November.

But it turned out to be a scrappy match, with a scoreless first half. Barça eventually took the lead with a 47th-minute goal from forward Pedro, who then extended it with a second strike in the 59th. Ten minutes after that, Levante striker Christian Stuani scored to halve the deficit, but they could not find another and the match ended as a 2-1 Barcelona win. After the final whistle, the club surprised Xavi with a ceremony to recognize his accomplishment.

He later took sole possession of the appearances record, extending his tally to 767 across all competitions before leaving the club in 2015.

20 April 2010 - The Third Time's The Charm For Inter

On 20 April 2010, Inter Milan scored against Barcelona for the first time in three matches that season, winning 3-1 in the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final match-up en route to winning the trophy.

The two teams met twice in the group stage, with the first match ending as a scoreless draw in Milan and the second as a 2-0 Barcelona victory at Camp Nou. Barcelona won the group, then advanced to the semi-finals over Stuttgart and Arsenal. Inter's path, meanwhile, went over manager José Mourinho's former club Chelsea and CSKA Moscow.

Playing before a crowd of 83,000 at the San Siro, Barcelona jumped to a first-half lead with a 19th-minute goal from Pedro, but Real Madrid cast-off Wesley Sneijder equalized in the 30th minute. Then, while playing a tenacious defensive game that stymied Barça playmaker Lionel Messi, Inter pushed ahead in the 48th minute--taking the ball from Messi and sending it up the pitch to Diego Milito, who then fed it to right back Maicon (pictured) to slot home.

Milito provided the day's final goal, knocking home Sneijder's misplaced header in the 61st minute. Barcelona poured forward, but Inter keeper Julio Cesar repeatedly denied their attempts on goal to secure the 3-1 victory.

Barça won the second leg 1-0, but Inter advanced by the aggregate score of 3-2 and went on to win their first European Cup/Champions League title since 1965.

19 December 2009 - Barça Ends A Banner Year

On 19 December 2009, Barcelona won a record 6th trophy for the calendar year, using an extra-time goal to beat Estudiantes in the Club World Cup.

That year, Barcelona had already won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Supercup, and the UEFA Champions League, matching Liverpool's haul of 5 trophies in 2001. The Champions League victory qualified them for the Club World Cup, which included the champions of 5 other confederations and the UAE's Al-Ahli, who qualified as hosts.

Both Barcelona and Estudiantes entered the competition at the quarterfinal stage, with the Catalan side beating Mexico's Atlante and the Argentinians defeating South Korean team Pohang Steelers to set up their meeting in the Final.

Although Barcelona were heavily favored, a driving header from center forward Mauro Boselli put Estudiantes ahead in the 37th-minute. Despite constant pressure from Barcelona, the underdogs held on and looked to have secured victory when, with one minute left, Barça pulled level with a header of their own from forward Pedro.

Lionel Messi, that year's Ballon d'Or winner, provided the deciding goal in extra time, receiving a long cross and slipping the ball under Estudiantes keeper Damien Albil in the 110th minute. Two days later, Messi was named the FIFA World Player of the Year.

16 January 2010 - Messi's Milestone

On 16 January 2010, Lionel Messi scored his 100th goal for Barcelona, becoming the youngest person in club history to hit that milestone.

The goal came in a home league match against Sevilla. The two teams had already met twice that month in the Copa del Rey Round of 16, with Sevilla advancing on away goals after drawing 2-2 on aggregate. In the second leg, which Barcelona won 1-0, Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop repeatedly frustrated Messi, denying him in several one-on-one attempts and preventing him from scoring.

In the league match on 16 January, Palop got off to another good start, keeping the game scoreless through the first half. But shortly after the start of the second half, Barcelona took the lead with a 49th-minute own goal from center back Julien Escudé. A chip from Barça striker Pedro doubled their lead in the 70th minute.

Then Messi struck. In the 84th minute, he scored his record 100th club goal from just outside the six-yard box. At 22 years, six months, and 22 days old, he was the youngest player in club history to score a century. But he didn't stop there, adding another in the first minute of stoppage time to extend the final score to 4-0.

Now three years later, he is close to tripling that number with a current total of 290 goals.

2 January 2011 - Xavi Shares The Record

On 2 January 2011, Xavi made his 549th appearance for Barcelona, tying the club record set by Migueli in 1988. He has since gone on to beat the record by more than 100 appearances and is still going.

The midfielder joined the club as a youth player in 1991 at the age of 11, then started his professional career there in 1997. One year later, he cracked the first team, making a total of 27 appearances in the 1998-99 season.

His record-tying match was at home against Levante. The visitors were coming off an 8-0 mauling by Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, so few people expected them to trouble the hosts, who had camped out at the top of table since late November.

But it turned out to be a scrappy match, with a scoreless first half. Barça eventually took the lead with a 47th-minute goal from forward Pedro, who then extended it with a second strike in the 59th. Ten minutes after that, Levante striker Christian Stuani scored to halve the deficit, but they could not find another and the match ended as a 2-1 Barcelona win. After the final whistle, the club surprised Xavi with a ceremony to recognize his accomplishment.

Now in his fifteenth season with Barcelona, he has taken sole possession of the appearances record with a current tally of 653 across all competitions.

13 September 2011 - Pato's Quick Strike

On 13 September 2011, Milan got their Champions League campaign underway with a goal from Alexandre Pato in the first minute against Barcelona. They then capped their day with a 92nd-minute goal from Thiago Silva to earn a 2-2 draw with the defending champions.

Pato's opener came after just 25 seconds as Pato sped between Barcelona defenders Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquest and slotted the ball under goalkeeper Victor Valdes. It is the fastest goal ever scored on the opening day of the tournament's group stage and the fifth fastest in the overall history of the competition (Bayern Munich's Roy Makaay has the fastest, scoring in just over ten seconds against Real Madrid in July 2007).

Barcelona equalized with a goal from Pedro in the 36th minute, then took the lead with a 50th-minute strike from David Villa. But Silva's stoppage-time goal earned a point for Milan.

Both teams advanced from the group stage and met again in the quarterfinals, with Barcelona winning 3-1 on aggregate.

20 April 2010 - The Third Time's The Charm For Inter

On 20 April 2010, Inter Milan scored against Barcelona for the first time in three matches that season, winning 3-1 in the opening leg of their Champions League semi-final match-up en route to winning the trophy.

The two teams met twice in the group stage, with the first match ending as a scoreless draw in Milan and the second as a 2-0 Barcelona victory at Camp Nou. Barcelona won the group, then advanced to the semi-finals over Stuttgart and Arsenal. Inter's path, meanwhile, went over manager José Mourinho's former club Chelsea and CSKA Moscow.

Playing before a crowd of 83,000 at the San Siro, Barcelona jumped to a first-half lead with a 19th-minute goal from Pedro, but Real Madrid cast-off Wesley Sneijder equalized in the 30th minute. Then, while playing a tenacious defensive game that stymied Barça playmaker Lionel Messi, Inter pushed ahead in the 48th minute--taking the ball from Messi and sending it up the pitch to Diego Milito, who then fed it to right back Maicon (pictured) to slot home.

Milito provided the day's final goal, knocking home Sneijder's misplaced header in the 61st minute. Barcelona poured forward, but Inter keeper Julio Cesar repeatedly denied their attempts on goal to secure the 3-1 victory.

Barça won the second leg 1-0, but Inter advanced by the aggregate score of 3-2 and went on to win their first European Cup/Champions League title since 1965.

19 December 2009 - Barça Ends A Banner Year

On 19 December 2009, Barcelona won a record 6th trophy for the a calendar year, using an extra-time goal to beat Estudiantes in the Club World Cup.

That year, Barcelona had already won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Supercup, and the UEFA Champions League, matching Liverpool's haul of 5 trophies in 2001. The Champions League victory qualified them for the Club World Cup, which included the champions of 5 other confederations and the UAE's Al-Ahli, who qualified as hosts.

Both Barcelona and Estudiantes entered the competition at the quarterfinal stage, with the Catalan side beating Mexico's Atlante and the Argentinians defeating South Korean team Pohang Steelers to set up their meeting in the Final.

Although Barcelona were heavily favored, a driving header from center forward Mauro Boselli put Estudiantes ahead in the 37th-minute. Despite constant pressure from Barcelona, the underdogs held on and looked to have secured victory when, with one minute left, Barça pulled level with a header of their own from forward Pedro.

Lionel Messi, that year's Ballon d'Or winner, provided the deciding goal in extra time, receiving a long cross and slipping the ball under Estudiantes keeper Damien Albil in the 110th minute. Two days later, Messi was named the FIFA World Player of the Year.